Papers of the adult education professor and researcher. Includes Griffith's correspondence
and his own writings (articles, book chapters, reports, speeches) as well as an extensive
amount of relevant material by others including articles and clippings, conference
proceedings, papers, reports and studies, speeches, and printed material. The collection
reflects Griffith's interest in international education (material from countries ranging
from Africa and Asia to Scotland and Sweden), correctional education (particularly
for sex offenders), and population education (Planned Parenthood, population education
in Egypt). There is also a considerable amount of material from organizations with
which Griffith was closely involved, including the American Association for Adult
and Continuing Education (AAACE), the Commission of Professors of Adult Education
(CPAE), the Northwest Adult Education Association, and the Universities of Chicago
and of British Columbia.

Language:

Vast majority is in English; there is some in French and a smattering of other languages

William S. Griffith earned his Ph.D. in Adult Education in 1963 from the University
of Chicago. He was a professor of Adult Education at the University of British Columbia
and the University of Chicago, and taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Australian
National University and the University of Sydney. He was an active member of the Commission
of Adult Education, President of the Northwest Adult Education Association (1990-1991),
Chairman of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education (CPAE), and President
of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). He also served
on the steering committee of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) and chaired
the program committees for the AEA/USA and the NAPCAE national conferences (in 1966
and 1975 respectively) and the Research Section of the National University Extension
Association. In 1986-1987, Griffith spent a year in the Philippines as part of a
joint pilot project of SEAMEO and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Bill Griffith had a number of research interests including extension education, correctional
education, literacy, population education and international education. He wrote extensively
on these and other topics -- articles, books, papers, speeches, reports, and studies
-- and made a significant contribution to the field by co-editing (with Howard McClusky)
the 8-volume Adult Education Association Handbook Series in Adult Education in 1980-1981.

His contributions to the field have been widely recognized. He was named a Fulbright-Hayes
Senior Research Fellow to Australia in 1972-1973, and in 1980 the AEA/USA awarded
him its Research to Practice award as well as its Leadership Award.

The William S. Griffith Papers represent the papers and research material of the adult educator and researcher.
They reflect Griffith's research interests in population education, correctional education,
extension education, and international comparative education. There is also a considerable
amount of material from organizations with which Griffith was closely involved, including
the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), the Commission
of Professors of Adult Education (CPAE), the Northwest Adult Education Association,
and the Universities of Chicago and of British Columbia.

The first three series comprise Griffith's own output. Biographical material
is sparse, consisting of two interviews, a clipping from the University of British
Columbia alumni magazine, and some campaign fliers from Griffith's campaign for AAACE
President. Correspondence-subject files consists of correspondence with individuals (Robert Luke, Roger Clark), organizations
(among them AAACE, CPAE, the Fielding Institute, and Planned Parenthood Federation
of Canada), and universities (University of Chicago, Pennsylvania State University,
Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, University of Calgary), as well as clusters of topical
information (adult basic education, correctional education, literacy, population education)
and specific activities or projects with which Griffith was involved, including the
International Symposium on Adult Education, Rape and Violence End Now (RAVEN), the
Ukrainian Dairy Training School, and the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization
(SEAMEO). The latter has material from Griffith's year in the Philippines under the
auspices of SEAMEO/CIDA, including background material on education in the Philippines,
a course description, and Griffith's own notes from regular meetings held during that
year in the Philippines. Writings comprises Griffith's articles, books, class syllabi and curricula, manuscripts, papers,
reports, reviews, and speeches. Of particular interest are the 30+ manuscript papers
on various aspects of community colleges. It is unclear whether these were intended
eventually to be merged into a book or whether they were written for different times
and occasions and simply share a theme.

The remaining series organize material collected by Griffith as relevant to his interests,
but not written by him. Articles (by others) contains reprints, photocopies and clippings of articles on topics related to adult
education; the earliest item is a photocopy of the text of a speech delivered at the
University of Michigan in 1855; the latest are transparencies of two Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.

Griffith attended (and presented at) a vast number of Conferences; this series includes material from nearly 50 conferences covering more than thirty
years, and provides an overview of the changing emphases in adult education during
that time. The material is in order by conference name. If the sponsoring organization
is not part of the name, and if there is a single sponsoring organization, its name
is given in parenthesis following the conference title.

Griffith also amassed a valuable library of papers, reports, studies, speeches and
printed material on adult education-related topics. Papers (by others) comprises scholarly papers written by others in the field, including a substantial
1940s paper by well-known adult educator Cyril O. Houle on "Adult Education as a Function
of State Government." Reports and studies (by others) represents a comprehensive 40-year overview of the field of adult education worldwide
in the form of formal reports and studies undertaken by organizations, foundations
and government agencies in the United States, Canada, and around the world. The documents
are divided into particular topics (Adult Basic Education (ABE), correctional education,
extension education, literacy, and women's education) and Miscellaneous; the Miscellaneous
papers are then subdivided by geographic area and range from Scotland to Iran to Africa.
Speeches (by others) contains the text of miscellaneous speeches. Theses (by others) contains more than 25 masters theses and doctoral dissertations, for which Dr. Griffith
was the faculty adviser or a dissertation committee member.Printed material is a motley collection of brochures, pamphlets, handouts, booklets and fliers from
a variety of organizations, associations, and agencies.

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require
advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance
concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before
publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Some items have been removed from the collection
for separate cataloging.
For more information on these items, please contact
the repository listed above or search the Classic Catalog
with "William S. Griffith" as "Keyword Anywhere."

The library holds a considerable number of collections related to adult and continuing
education. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index
for a complete listing. In particular, the researcher may wish to consult the following:

"Adult Education and Community Service in the Community College" undated
- more than 30 typescript papers or essays on various aspects of community colleges;
most are untitled and it is unclear whether these were intended to be articles, papers,
or perhaps merged into a book
(4 folders)

Papers

Box 3

"Access to Education as Related to Economic Development and the Quality of Life" undated

Box 3

Communities, Universities and Change: Recent North American Experience undated

Miscellaneous
- collection of photocopies and reprints of articles, book reviews, book chapters, etc
from 1855 to 1991 on various adult education topics; also includes two Calvin and
Hobbes cartoons
(2 folders)

Scotland 1974-1989
- includes a 1975 study by J. Alexander, "A Study of Policy, Organisation, and Provision
in Community Education and Leisure and Recreation in Three Scottish Regions," 500
pp.
(2 folders)

Box 7

Sweden 1979-1981, 1990

International also includes some papers published by the Swedish Ministry of Education on education
of the European workforce

Newsletters 1974-1996
- miscellaneous newsletters from a variety of organizations, most are single issues
(newsletters with substantial runs or from organizations Griffith was involved with
are in the Correspondence-subject files, under their organization)

Box 8

Periodicals 1955, 1986-1989
- single issues of a variety of periodicals -
Adult Leadership "best of" issue; one issue of
REAL; two issues of
Community Services Catalyst; two issues of
Policy Explorations

Box 8

Miscellany
- miscellaneous collection of pamphlets, fliers, brochures, instruction booklets, etc
from a variety of US and Canadian organizations, centers, foundations, or groups
(2 folders)